Easton Neighbourhood Sergeant Chris Green said: “As well as the surrender bins and educational work with young people, our high visibility patrols, weapons sweeps and use of ASB legislation sends a clear message to those involved in knife crime that we will not tolerate violence in our communities.”

Here, Bristol Live takes a look back at all the people jailed so far this year for knife-related crimes in Bristol and the surrounding area.

David Purkiss

It was just a chance encounter. But when David Purkiss and James Brown passed each other in Weston-super-Mare, Purkiss asked something like “What are you looking at?”, Bristol Crown Court heard.

Mr Brown stopped and a “frenzied tussle” ensued in which Purkiss produced a craft knife and slashed Brown’s torso.

Anwar Marjan

The builder just released from jail saw his ex-partner with a new man and stabbed her in the back. Anwar Marjan had been let out of prison hours before seeing Katie Smith in Turbo Island, Stokes Croft.

Bristol Crown Court was told he argued with her new man, left the scene and returned with a shard of glass which he thrust into her back.

The glass went through a thick jacket, hooded top and T-shirt before inflicting a one-cm-long cut to her body.

Marjan, 38, of Stapleton Road in Easton, was to face trial but pleaded guilty to unlawful wounding following the incident in October last year.

Judge Euan Ambrose jailed him for 21 months in April.

Turbo Island, Stokes Croft

Ramin Pakrooh, prosecuting, said Marjan and Miss Smith were in a relationship for some years, which was characterised by violence.

When he saw her with her new man an argument ensued, he walked off, but returned wearing gloves and holding an object in a black cloth.

Mr Pakrooh said: “He pulled the object out and Miss Smith saw it was a large piece of glass, 20 to 25cm long.

“She said ‘I love the guy, leave us alone, you just have to accept it’.”

With that Miss Smith turned away and Marjan stabbed her. The resulting wound needed to be sutured but caused no lasting effects.

Police found Marjan hiding in a cupboard in a St Paul's property a few weeks later.

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The recorder Mr Michael Vere-Hodge QC jailed him for three years at the end of March.

He told Marsh: “You have a large number of convictions which relate to violence offences against your parents. This was another episode and you’ve got to take responsibility for you actions and you’ve got to take responsibility for your own life."

Virginia Cornwall, prosecuting, said but for one offence all of Marsh’s previous convictions were against his parents. They included damaging their property, threatening them and assaulting them in 2013 and assaulting his mum in 2014.

The recorder Mr Michael Vere-Hodge QC

Miss Cornwall said that, regardless, his parents had not supported the latest prosecution and had just wanted to move on.

The court heard the latest attack occurred when Marsh entered his parents’ bedroom around midnight and woke them up.

Miss Cornwall said: “He was clearly in drink. He put on a fake accent, said ‘Come on, let’s have some’ and adopted a boxing stance.

“He was told to leave, his mother intervened, his father Andrew tried to assist and the defendant punched him, grabbed him and tried to choke him. His father grabbed him and the defendant bit him on the left cheek.”

Claire would have died quickly, the court heard. She sustained some injuries which could have been caused in the course of a struggle.

The cause of her death was stab wounds to the neck and chest. Tavener was arrested after he was seen on the tracks at Nailsea railway station. He told railway staff: “I’m trying to kill myself”.

His right arm looked severely injured. A train driver reported how he saw Tavener laying on the tracks and stopped a train with an emergency stop. Tavener survived and said: “I just wanna die, I just wanna die, I just want to kill myself.”

Police found Tavener in a shelter and arrested him.

Jaici Rocha

The paranoid Easton husband stabbed his partner in the eye and heart and slashed her throat before covering her body and leaving her for dead.

Jaici Alfenas Rocha, 37, was jailed for life in March for murdering his wife Karina Guimaraes Batista in a ferocious attack which saw him almost sever her spinal cord.

Jaici Rocha (Image: Avon and Somerset police)

Rocha, of Kensington Park, denied her murder after the 40-year-old was found dead at their rented flat on the morning of February 13 last year.

A jury found him guilty after a little more than five hours’ deliberation, by a majority of 11-1.

Karina Guimaraes Batista

The Honourable Mr Justice Dingemans sentenced him to life imprisonment with a minimum tariff of 20 years. He told Rocha: “It was a frenzied attack."

The judge said he was sure Rocha bought a chef’s knife intending to threaten either Karina or her suspected lover, and said the murder was not premeditated.

Karina with husband Jaici Rocha

He said the couple argued, went to church, and later Rocha picked up the knife and used it to kill Karina, who suffered 27 wounds.

He said Mr Rocha was convicted "on overwhelming evidence” and imposed a life sentence with a minimum tariff of 20 years.

He sentenced Thomas to 18 months in youth custody and Villious nine months in youth custody.

Lee Harris

Sarah Regan, prosecuting, told the court Thomas (indicated by the green arrow in the video) entered the club and grabbed another man, Milan Mills-Plummer. In a struggle which ensued Thomas was punched and kicked on the floor.

In further incidents Thomas stabbed Mr Mills-Plummer in his lower abdomen and Harris in his thigh, the court heard.

Maurice Villious

Later, in an incident off-camera, Villious was stabbed in his chest and suffered a 10cm (4in) deep wound, which punctured his lung and missed his heart by 1cm. The person who carried out the stabbing was not identified to the police.

The court heard Edward Hetherington, defending Thomas, say: “This arises out of considerable ill-feeling that dates back to school days, a dislike which has festered."

Adan Dahir

The murdering husband is now serving a life sentence for stabbing mother-of-two Asiyah Harris to death, leaving her with two stab injuries to the neck, one to each side, and one of them severed an artery.

The 38-year-old of Ludlow Close in St Pauls, denied murdering his 27-year-old wife in August 2017 and tried to claim she has inflicted the injuries on herself.

Adan Dahir pictured with Asiyah Harris

But after a two-week trial he was found guilty after a jury deliberated for five hours and 22 minutes in February.

Prosecutor Adam Vaitilingam QC told the jury around 11pm on August 21 last year police were called to 8 Ludlow Close in St Paul's after neighbours heard shouting.

Garfield White

The 23-year-old of Wordsworth Road in Horfield was handed very hefty sentence for a moment of madness at work.

He was an agency worker at Ikea in Bristol and stabbed his supervisor in the the chest, arm and knee in a later confrontation between them in the street, after he had earlier picked a fight at work when he was incensed at being branded “lazy", Bristol Crown Court heard.

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White was found guilty of wounding with intent and possessing a blade and Judge James Patrick gave him a 17-year sentence, comprising of 12 years and four months’ custody and extended licence of four years, eight months, in February. White must serve two-thirds of the sentence before being eligible for parole.

The judge, who viewed White as a dangerous offender, told him: “You are an articulate and intelligent man from a good home. You are also an aggressive, violent, dishonest and scheming thug.”

GV of IKEA Eastville Bristol. (Image: Jon kent)

The court heard White had a fight with his victim before stabbing him multiple times in Wordsworth Road in August 2017.

Simon Goodman, prosecuting, said the complainant has suffered ongoing pain since and has been referred to a specialist.

Virginia Cornwall, defending, told the court: “After the Ikea incident the complainant and another came to his home. The defendant feared there may be unlawful violence used against him. This was a confrontation in the street.

“In the heat of the moment Mr White armed himself. It was a spontaneous decision in the heat of the moment.”

Miss Cornwall said her client, who is well supported by his family, acknowledged he had an anger management problem.

Abdullahi Adan

The homeless 25-year-old took a knife to a fist fight while in a queue for hostel accommodation, where 36 people waited with the hope of getting one of the 18 beds.

When an argument flared Adan got involved in a fight in which he produced a blade.

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In February, he pleaded guilty to charges of robbery, possessing a blade and damaging a police car.

Alun Williams, prosecuting, said that on December 20 last year Robins collected £2.38 worth of items at the Costcutter before pulling out a knife and telling shopkeeper Rana Javed: “I’ll f*** kill you! If you follow me, I will kill you!”

Keiron Robins

Immediately afterwards, Robins entered the Best One store nearby and told shopkeeper Sunny Patel: “Whoever comes in this shop is going to get it. I’m coming back for you later on.”

He then pulled up his top, revealing a blade in his pocket, before adding: “I’m going to come back. I’m going to get you.”

Recorder Vasanti Selvaratnum QC sentenced Robins to three years and ten months in jail.

She told him: “The shopkeeper says he felt in fear. The threat felt real and he was most concerned for children outside.”

Mohamed Osman

Householder Nicholas Sheward was woken up by the noise of someone in his home and found 31-year-old Osman, of Lawfords Gate in Lawford Street, in the hallway, with a knife in one hand and a bottle of Tequila in the other.

It transpired Osman broke into the flats where people were sleeping just hours before he was due to be sentenced by magistrates for sexual assault.

Osman then told him: “I’ve been upstairs smoking weed. I’m not going to steal from you.”

When Mr Sheward asked the intruder why he had the bottle and knife, Osman said the knife was for protection before leaving.

It transpired Osman had taken the bottle and knife from Mr Sheward’s kitchen, where he had drank from a bottle of lemonade.

Lawford Street (Image: Google Maps)

That sip of lemonade saw him jailed for 22 months at the beginning of February, after police found his DNA on the bottle of soft drink, which tied him to the burglary.

Osman also broke into Sam Barber’s upstairs flat and stole a laptop computer worth £300 and an iPad, the court heard.

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After the 5am burglary Osman appeared before magistrates and was handed a suspended sentence for sexually assaulting a woman.

When arrested he told police he had been drunk and homeless and the door to the premises was open.

Tabitha Macfarlane, defending, said: “He says he was drinking too much. As a result his wife kicked him out. He lost his job, he lost somewhere to live. He is really, really sorry. He says ‘I want to be a family man and look after my children.”

Vandross Williams

A fight broke out in the Jack of Diamonds nightclub in West Street, Old Market, on August 20 last year and spilled out onto the street, where 26-year-old Williams, of Easton, attacked his victim, who has not been named by police, in a car as he tried to flee.

Vandross Williams was filmed (view above) wielding a large knife in the street as he attacked a 23-year-old man after an altercation at the club.

Vandross Williams was jailed for nine years

He was sentenced to nine years in jail in January.

Avon and Somerset Police Detective Inspector Adam Smith said: “Williams displayed a shocking level of violence in a city centre street on a summer’s night that will not be tolerated.

Vandross Williams was caught on camera wielding a knife in the street

“CCTV footage shows the large knife he was carrying with him that night, which was used to commit this horrific act.

“We’re determined to tackle knife crime in the city. This case demonstrates how we will deal robustly with anyone who decides to use a blade to commit crime.

Jack of Diamonds, West Street

“But we also need to understand why young people are carrying knives and work to dispel the myth that they’re needed for protection.”

DI Smith added: “We want to let young people know that if they are worried that someone they know is carrying a knife, but are nervous about talking to the police, that they can contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111 and potentially help to save a life.”

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Jordan Knight and Lewis Tynan

Two men were jailed after they broke into a former friend’s home early in the morning and threatened him with a knife and iron bar, after falling out over a girlfriend.

Jordan Knight and Lewis Tynan entered the home of Ryan Devonshire on September 1 last year and launched a vicious attack, which included holding a knife to his throat and threatening to stab him.

Jordan Knight was jailed for 13 months for an attack on his former friend

Knight, of Moorland Road in Weston-super-Mare , had previously been friends with the victim but they had fallen out “due to jealousy” over Knight's girlfriend.

Knight, aged 21, and Tynan, 26, were jailed at Bristol Crown Court on Friday January 19, after both pleaded guilty to assault causing actual bodily harm and burglary.

Lewis Tynan tried to separate the two men but did also assault the victim

David Scutt, prosecuting, said: “Ryan Devonshire was asleep on the sofa. The defendants broke into the house through the front door. He found himself confronted by Mr Knight. [Knight] then punched Mr Devonshire. Mr Devonshire then went for an iron bar he told the police he keeps near his sofa.

“He was disarmed and ordered by Mr Tynan to go into the kitchen. Mr Devonshire describes being crouched down with Mr Tynan standing over him. Mr Knight then entered the kitchen with the iron bar and a knife, with a six inch blade, believed to have been picked up inside the house.